threegee

Anonymous guest post:

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hello ,No 24 is Muriel Spurgeon, Hazel Spurgeon was never married  so was not Mrs Hazel Spurgeon no 3. Great pic,two uncles, 1 granny and two aunts of mine on there., all  lived at no 7 hague road

 

On 12/06/2021 at 22:58, Andy Millne said:

Elaine Firth?

Yes, I think that's Elaine. But this isn't actually Laird's House front garden. It's the house to the East of Laird's House, the large front room of which was originally the Laird's House (40 Front Street East) kitchen.

Elaine's father worked for the BUDC and was I think the first tenant on 40A after it was separated from Laird's House sometime in the late 1950s.  The numbering system became a little confused there due to the dividing (and subdividing) of the properties over the years. I think fractions were involved somewhere as well as letters - I used to be able to explain this in detail!  

The plaque on the wall (above the pram hood) is probably that of Ian Henderson: the dentist who came to Bedlington around that time. That building later became the Post Office.  At some far earlier point, this building was given the name Longstone.

If you look beyond the hedge, you can see that at this point the two shopfronts hadn't been fitted to the single story building there. The nearest one of those became Rediffusion after it was a dress shop.  Beyond that, you can see Todd's wet fish shop (the first taller building), where Mrs Todd still had an open window displaying her fish.  Next one down on the other side of the arch was Allsop's (sp?) the barbers.  I think you can even spy the windows of the BUDC offices where the Miner's Picknick brass band contest judges used to sit, and onward...!

On 11/06/2021 at 21:18, Jammy said:

This scan looks like the inside of Tyred and Exhausted's garage going off the steel construction and the glass panels in the roof.

Does anyone know different?

You aren't too far off the mark, as both building's roofs could well have been constructed by the same contractor (maybe Bill Scott Engineering?), and they are pretty close to one another.

It's the Millne Bike Factory behind the former Turk's Head Hotel in the Market Place (later to become Coop - Millne House, before recent demolition).  Looks like the snow collapsed the roof.  Date some winter in the 1930s I'd guess, but it could be the early 1940s as they were still making bikes for the Army, as well as Bailey Bridge parts up until around 1945.  The roof would have been demolished by the Coop when they rebuilt the rear of the Millne department store.  After WWII, the building became The Terrier Plate Works, thought there was still some remaining evidence of bike manufacture there in the early 1950s.

They didn't leave a name.  The message originated from Guildford if that's any help.

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Guest

(IP: 86.190.40.189)

Submitted December 29, 2021

Number 30 is Jacqueline Trotter

Number 6 is Frank ?

Above was sent to the moderators in error.

Bonzo (#1) again!  The back says it was taken 7th August 1929, and he looks to be warm.

James David Millne I

Mining engineer who managed the Doctor Pit for the Bedlington Coal Company.  Officially employed as under-manager (assistant manager), he held a full manager's qualifications, and turned down offers from other regional coal companies wanting him to manage collieries for them in favour of remaining in Bedlington.  He worked together with Mr Cruddace (junior), who's responsibility was to manage (again officially under-manage) the 'A' Pit at Bedlington Station. Mr Cruddace (senior) held overall management responsibility for both collieries.

"David" also held public office as a JP (Justice of the Peace), and served on the board of the Bedlington Cooperative Society, amongst other local duties.  He was known to many Bedlingtonians as the lay preacher at The Church of Christ (Baptists) on Front Street West.  It is largely unknown what he did in his spare time!

The Austin Sheerline A125 of the very early 1950's.

Reportedly only around 8000 were ever built and sold worldwide. This one was Bedlington's example (often seen parked in The Marketplace), and was borrowed by Lord Ridley for electioneering.

It had a luxury hard wood interior, and there was even a matching fully fitted picknick case built in to the rear seating.

"The Packard" ?

Looks like Bonzo (#1) wants to go for a ride.

James Henry (Jimmy) Millne.

The dog would be Bonzo (#1).  He was well known in Bedlington, and famous for carrying long planks.

Elizabeth Millne and her grandson outside 7, Hartford Road, Bedlington.  Circa 1950.

Just a stab in the dark here, but this looks very like Eileen Brown (nee Purvis) the vicar's daughter and Dr Brown's wife.  I never dreamed she would might have been a cyclist - but maybe before the Buckfast Tonic Wine (as a medical requirement, of course).

Mary and "Jimmy" Millne.  Nice hat, but the car is really the star here. What is it?  Not the contemporary Austin Sheerline I think - heck I should know, but don't!  Many mentions of a stylish Packard, but I think that was a lot earlier. Another Austin, or could it simply be one of Billy Elliot's Fords?

Laird's House Garden behind Front Street West around 1957/58. This is looking East by a little bit North. This is the access road and car park now.  The lawn was always set out as a putting green by the Bedlington Coal Company managers lived there before WWII, so the little chap was probably the last person ever to use them.  Too smudgy to be sure but the "little chap" is likely me!

7, Hartford Road, BEDLINGTON.  With No.8 of course.

Date unknown, but it never changes much.  If I took it - which seems likely - then this was late 1950's or very early 1960's. That outside wall was demolished in the early to mid 1960's.

1 minute ago, threegee said:

There'd need to be more detail to date this one more accurately, but from a close-up of the roofline in the foreground it's surprisingly no earlier than the very late 1950's (1959) and more likely the early to mid 1960's - from the TV aerials of course.

 

Oliver Reed comes immediately to mind!  Can't think why. 

Yes, of course it's Roy.  Thanks for the correction.  Think I identified Roy on pix elsewhere in the gallery some time ago as still going strong!

 

Fancy mixing up a militant Marxist extremist with a "cuddly right winger"!  Must have had far too much vino that night, or maybe I was just trying to wind-up HPW?

 

P.S. I deeply and genuinely sympathise HPW, but the fact is you were taken for a ride. I've covered this elsewhere so won't repeat myself.  There was right and wrong on both sides, but by refusing to hold a ballot Scargill automatically put himself on the wrong side of the law. The present-day NUM takes a much more objective view of your hero. You've misidentified your villains, and another of those could well be Ted Heath, who didn't act like a proper national leader when tested.

 

I agree with you that the McGregor + Tyler book is a good insightful read, but it's certainly not his biography.

 

Attempting to imposing modern standards on centuries-old history, and cherry-picking facts, are favourite practices of Marxists.  The popular capitalism you condemn has been responsible for the social improvements, whereas Scargill's Marxism enslaved the people it pretended to liberate, and surely (to mis-quote Marx) "contains the seeds of its own destruction".

The "Market Cross Stores" has never looked so twee. Gets my ration stamps any day! Hope they are going to tidy that rats-nest of cables up though.

Ah, good old pre-1960's green paint (paynt ), none of your titanium dioxide muck! Though pity about the sash windows!

Possibly Bessie Braddock? She was I think a frequent visitor. I can certainly remember her here in the late 50's or early 60's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessie_Braddock

Any other pictures of this particular year that would resolve this?

NUM Yorkshire President Arthur Scargill, caught in the Market Place between Millne House and The Market Tavern in the year before his taking over as President of the NUM.

Four years later Arthur would attempt to bring down the government with the disastrous 1984–1985 miners' strike. This would prove to be the final nail-in-the-cofin for the UK mining industry, and have a profound effect on mining communities like our town's.

Front Street East hasn't changed THAT much over nearly 60 years - has it? Unlike Front Street West which is now hardly recognisable in old photos. Pity these pictures weren't a bit bigger.